2014 Italian Grand Prix Friday practice analysis

A recurring electronic problem kept Lewis Hamilton from running for an hour during the second practice session, but seems not to have put him off his stride.

At the close of practice on Friday he still had the fastest time of the day, set during the first session. And most significantly the fault did not occur on his race engine.

However team mate Nico Rosberg was left to do the bulk of Mercedes’ race simulation work and he had some concerns after the chequered flag came down on Friday afternoon.

“It seems that we are quick on one lap but on the long run the others were very fast,” he said. “I didn’t feel 100 per cent confident in the car, so I can’t be happy with today and I have a lot of work to do tonight with the boys.”

From the long run pace (see chart below) it appears Williams are likely to be their strongest challengers, as they were widely tipped to be before the weekend began. The team usually keep a lid on their pace on Fridays, but the long run by Valtteri Bottas has clearly given Rosberg something to think about.

Bottas said his team’s low downforce aerodynamic package was working well: “With the low downforce the car does slide a bit more, but it’s manageable,” he said. “I am really pleased with the long run pace, but think there is a little more to get from it.”

While Williams’ race pace looked good, Ferrari showed strong performance over a single lap at their home race. Kimi Raikkonen, who enjoyed a trouble-free Friday for once this year, lost less than a tenth of a second to Rosberg over their best sector times.

Monza’s high speeds require tough tyres so Pirelli have brought their hardest rubber. However the combination of a fairly short race duration and a high penalty for making a pit stop generally pushes teams towards making a single pit stop, as is likely to be the case on Sunday.

“Both compounds look to be very durable, with degradation also very low,” said Pirelli’s motorsport diretor Paul Hembery. “We would expect to see one stop for most drivers on Sunday, as was the case last year. The drivers could qualify on the medium or the hard tyre, but we should see the medium compound used for the majority of the race.”

Longest stint comparison – second practice

This chart shows all the drivers’ lap times (in seconds) during their longest unbroken stint:

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/2014drivercolours.csv

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Sebastian Vettel	90.236	89.61	89.976	89.783	90.051	89.953	90.609	89.532	89.748	89.527	89.861	98.537	89.634
Daniel Ricciardo	93.417	90.015	90.209	94.531	89.837	89.71	89.829	89.683	90.043	89.68	89.716	89.608	89.606	89.892
Lewis Hamilton	89.35	89.486	89.309	91.161
Nico Rosberg	91.545	89.722	89.523	90.366	89.448	89.547	91.416	89.722	89.356	95.617	90.117	89.85	89.973	90.389	90.109	91.562	93.764
Fernando Alonso	86.565	126.316	92.786	105.99	86.566
Kimi Raikkonen	90.191	89.823	89.996	90.135	89.615	89.907	90.416	89.771	89.635	89.513	89.675	89.337	89.875	89.772
Romain Grosjean	92.632	91.843	95.299	91.575	92.091
Pastor Maldonado	91.994	91.415	91.32	91.308	91.121	93.981	90.777	91.496	91.04	91.093	91.542	92.307	91.22	91.308	91.074	91.188	91.017	90.963	90.993	91.872	91.404	91.427
Jenson Button	90.368	90.993	90.887	90.658	90.597	90.302	90.481	90.442	90.168
Kevin Magnussen	90.864	90.259	90.209	90.188	90.485	90.237	90.413	90.212	90.238	90.218	90.388	90.87
Nico Hulkenberg	91.195	90.625	90.473	90.372	90.512	90.586	90.501	90.533	90.476	90.545
Sergio Perez	90	89.635	89.805	89.711	90.468	89.893	90.129	90.695	91.058	90.143	89.586	89.561
Adrian Sutil	91.811	91.438	91.125	91.191	91.524	91.793	90.931	90.931	91.513	91.94	91.072	91.98	90.96
Esteban Gutierrez	91.112	91.148	91.016	90.906	90.874	90.866	91.082	91.039	91.123	91.038	91.185
Jean-Eric Vergne	91.422	91.794	91.06	91.067	91.433	91.187	91.126	91.008
Daniil Kvyat	90.543	90.156	90.628	90.243	90.401	90.24	90.187	90.817	90.459	90.42	90.546	90.544	90.734	92.388	90.925	90.614	90.87	97.456	91.735
Felipe Massa	89.778	89.765	89.935	89.728	89.365	89.646	90.789	90.714	89.731	89.651	89.961	90.156	90.091	90.067	90.322	90.144	90.133	90.753
Valtteri Bottas	90.273	89.689	89.36	89.207	89.113	88.938	89.39	89.367	89.251	89.329	90.312	89.329	89.249	89.27	89.215	89.513	89.455	90.011	90.873	89.762
Jules Bianchi	93.396	92.793	93.112	93.387	93.291	94.18	93.085
Max Chilton	93.476	92.457	92.574	92.423	92.294	92.211
Marcus Ericsson	93.688	94.547	92.592	94.103	92.689	92.04	92.348	92.633	93.141	92.508	92.796	92.796	92.415
Kamui Kobayashi	94.136	94.007	93.096	94.905	93.421	93.277	92.025	99.419

Sector times and ultimate lap times – second practice

Pos	No.	Driver	Car	S1	S2	S3	Ultimate	Gap	Deficit to best
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	27.776 (4)	29.512 (6)	28.926 (1)	1’26.214		0.011
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	27.696 (2)	29.356 (1)	29.166 (5)	1’26.218	0.004	0.068
3	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	27.681 (1)	29.510 (4)	29.061 (2)	1’26.252	0.038	0.079
4	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	27.728 (3)	29.506 (3)	29.152 (4)	1’26.386	0.172	0.179
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	27.808 (6)	29.489 (2)	29.328 (9)	1’26.625	0.411	0.133
6	22	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	27.867 (8)	29.511 (5)	29.317 (8)	1’26.695	0.481	0.067
7	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	27.946 (10)	29.679 (8)	29.075 (3)	1’26.700	0.486	0.062
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren-Mercedes	27.849 (7)	29.531 (7)	29.390 (10)	1’26.770	0.556	0.111
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull-Renault	28.013 (12)	29.721 (11)	29.169 (6)	1’26.903	0.689	0.089
10	19	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	28.019 (13)	29.682 (9)	29.228 (7)	1’26.929	0.715	0.006
11	11	Sergio Perez	Force India-Mercedes	27.796 (5)	29.703 (10)	29.501 (13)	1’27.000	0.786	0.079
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	27.922 (9)	29.910 (13)	29.395 (11)	1’27.227	1.013	0.000
13	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso-Renault	27.966 (11)	29.941 (14)	29.431 (12)	1’27.338	1.124	0.138
14	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber-Ferrari	28.150 (16)	29.753 (12)	29.806 (16)	1’27.709	1.495	0.131
15	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber-Ferrari	28.116 (14)	30.031 (16)	29.699 (14)	1’27.846	1.632	0.183
16	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso-Renault	28.134 (15)	30.018 (15)	29.721 (15)	1’27.873	1.659	0.056
17	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus-Renault	28.272 (17)	30.344 (18)	29.906 (18)	1’28.522	2.308	0.178
18	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia-Ferrari	28.375 (19)	30.299 (17)	29.915 (19)	1’28.589	2.375	0.070
19	4	Max Chilton	Marussia-Ferrari	28.296 (18)	30.367 (19)	30.055 (20)	1’28.718	2.504	0.068
20	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	28.633 (21)	30.384 (20)	29.869 (17)	1’28.886	2.672	0.199
21	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham-Renault	28.468 (20)	30.518 (22)	30.187 (22)	1’29.173	2.959	0.005
22	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham-Renault	28.674 (22)	30.486 (21)	30.080 (21)	1’29.240	3.026	0.035

Speed trap – second practice

	#	Driver	Car	Engine	Max speed (kph)	Gap
1	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	Mercedes	348.8
2	22	Jenson Button	McLaren	Mercedes	348.6	0.2
3	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	Mercedes	346.9	1.9
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	Mercedes	346.7	2.1
5	11	Sergio Perez	Force India	Mercedes	346.5	2.3
6	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren	Mercedes	346.2	2.6
7	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	346	2.8
8	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Ferrari	345.9	2.9
9	19	Felipe Massa	Williams	Mercedes	345	3.8
10	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	Ferrari	344	4.8
11	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	Renault	342.9	5.9
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	Renault	341.1	7.7
13	4	Max Chilton	Marussia	Ferrari	339.9	8.9
14	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	Renault	339.8	9
15	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber	Ferrari	339.6	9.2
16	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	Renault	339.4	9.4
17	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber	Ferrari	339.3	9.5
18	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus	Renault	337.5	11.3
19	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham	Renault	335.1	13.7
20	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham	Renault	333	15.8
21	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia	Ferrari	331.8	17
22	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	Renault	330.4	18.4

Complete practice times

Pos	Driver	Car	FP1	FP2	Total laps
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1’26.187	1’26.286	41
2	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1’26.995	1’26.225	67
3	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	1’27.493	1’26.331	58
4	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1’27.169	1’26.565	49
5	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	1’28.148	1’26.758	55
6	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1’26.810	1’26.762	61
7	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	1’27.271	1’26.762	54
8	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren-Mercedes	1’27.228	1’26.881	74
9	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	1’28.150	1’26.935	53
10	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull-Renault	1’28.487	1’26.992	49
11	Sergio Perez	Force India-Mercedes	1’27.687	1’27.079	55
12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	1’28.112	1’27.227	62
13	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso-Renault	1’27.741	1’27.476	58
14	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber-Ferrari	1’28.114	1’27.840	54
15	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso-Renault	1’28.300	1’27.929	63
16	Adrian Sutil	Sauber-Ferrari		1’28.029	35
17	Giedo van der Garde	Sauber-Ferrari	1’28.429		19
18	Jules Bianchi	Marussia-Ferrari	1’30.081	1’28.659	61
19	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus-Renault	1’29.512	1’28.700	66
20	Max Chilton	Marussia-Ferrari	1’30.017	1’28.786	54
21	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault		1’29.085	29
22	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham-Renault		1’29.178	32
23	Daniel Juncadella	Force India-Mercedes	1’29.192		10
24	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham-Renault	1’30.948	1’29.275	53
25	Charles Pic	Lotus-Renault	1’30.125		23
26	Roberto Merhi	Caterham-Renault	1’30.704		29

2014 Italian Grand Prix

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16 comments on “Hamilton quickest but Mercedes are wary of Williams”

Graham (@guitargraham)
5th September 2014, 18:44
that’s some serious race pace from Bottas. i think that those that said Williams could challenge for the win this weekend are right. wouldn’t that be fantastic!!!
1. JCost (@jcost)
  5th September 2014, 19:48
  Yes, everything equal on Sunday and they can annoy Mercedes. Even if they fail to get the pole, if they manage second grid and outlast Mercedes in tyre wear they can win it. But I think Mercedes will do better than that and personally I want Lewis to win this race.
HK (@me4me)
5th September 2014, 18:47
The speedtrap figures show once more how dominant the Mercedes powertrain is. Also Williams seem strong, although im wondering if Bottas was running light on fuel or if Massa had a problem. Also going by the results of Raikkonen, Vettel and Ricciardo, we could be in for a massive battle come race day!
1. RetardedF1sh (@retardedf1sh)
  5th September 2014, 18:53
  Bottas was running the softer tyre, I don’t know about Massa, but if he had the harder one that would explain some of the difference. Still great pace from Bottas though.
2. Jules Winfield (@jules-winfield)
  5th September 2014, 18:55
  Bottas did a long run on mediums; Massa was on the hards.
3. DaveW (@dmw)
  5th September 2014, 19:12
  There is only 2.9kph to the first non-Mercedes PU car, Alonso’s. I don’t think this necessarily says more about the engines than the cars they are in. Also, Alonso is quicker in S2 than the fastest cars, suggesting that the Ferrari is running more downforce than some Mercedes cars.
  1. Srdjan Mandic (@srga91)
    5th September 2014, 20:45
    I don’t think that Ferrari were running with more downforce, their car just generates more downforce than i.e. McLaren or Force India. Also I think that Alonso’s fastest S2-time was down to a lighter fuel load.
4. Formula Indonesia (@)
  6th September 2014, 0:59
  Dont forget JB
DaveW (@dmw)
5th September 2014, 19:04
Considering their advantage of raw pace, MB may consider a two-stop race. It certainly looks like they need some answer to Williams, strategically. If they can gap Williams by .5s per lap they can cover the extra pit delta over 53 laps and then some. Williams won’t be able to profitably cover this strategy as they lack the raw pace to go toe to toe in a triple-sprint. From Williams’ view, their great race pace may not redound if they can’t get on the first two rows. They may be stuck behind a couple Ferraris and a McLaren while Mercedes runs away in the first stint.
1. Jake (@jleigh)
  5th September 2014, 19:13
  The problem would be a 2 stop would require them to overtake the Williams on track, Unless they were closer to 1 sec per lap quicker. We’ve seen how difficult a Williams is to pass already this season
2. Quant
  5th September 2014, 19:19
  We’ve seen Williams’ one lap pace not demonstrated until free practice 3 on numerous occasions this season, so I would not be surprised to see Williams close the gap to Mercedes in FP3 and qualifying (I don’t think overhauling them is out of the question either).
Kingshark (@kingshark)
5th September 2014, 19:05
Ferrari don’t look bad, their sector times look competitive, as does their long run pace, and they are also quite quick in the speed traps!
With that being said, it’s Friday, so it’ll probably go all downhill from here.
1. BasCB (@bascb)
  5th September 2014, 19:59
  Yeah, its friday and Ferrari have seemed closer than they really are most fridays this year, so not expecting too much. I think Kimi’s assessment of their pace (it xxxxs) is likely to be proven correct
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
5th September 2014, 21:28
Quite unusual that everyone bar Hülkenberg did his fastest lap without nailing all 3 sectors together.
matt90 (@matt90)
6th September 2014, 1:21
I want some retribution for Hamilton this weekend. I want to see him absolutely smash Rosberg like in Malaysia, with Rosberg at least being pressured by others if not beaten to 2nd. Ideally I want the championship to close up a reasonable amount, so Rosberg lower than 2nd hopefully. Most of all I want to see a trouble-free quali for Hamilton.
Sayee Saran
6th September 2014, 9:31
How is force indias race pace??